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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

May and June are traditionally the months when the queen of flowers, the rose, makes its regal appearance in gardens across the world. Shakespeare said it well "At Christmas I no more desire a rose. Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled shows; But like of each thing that in season grows." [from Love's Labour Lost] Ovid wrote: "The sharpest thorn often produces delicate roses" and a Turkish proverb claims "Thorns and roses grow on the same tree".
Rose has captured the imagination of all cultures, of all men. Its association with beauty, romance and physical perfection dates back a long, long time ago and doesn't show any signs of waning. All it asks is our appreciation. Like in Saint-Exypery's Little Prince, we must tend our rose (literal and metaphorical), for it to bloom and to reach its peak. But bend to actually smell the roses, literally, and you find a nuanced, multi-layered cornucopia of fragrant notes, evolving, tingling, provoking you into reaction... Rose isn't a simpleton.

The Rose Family
The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple’s a rose
~Robert Frost (1874–1963)

There are Five English Rose Fragrance Descriptors
According to David Austin Roses, the following descriptors, much like in wine and tea (or indeed like perfume!) serve to guide like a compass into how rose can have specific nuances in its scent profile.

Myrrh: An aromatic, anise-like scent; among roses it's found almost exclusively in English roses.Fruity: Because the rose is related to apricots, pears, apples, strawberries and others, fruity notes often surface.Musk: A romantic scent, it often comes from the flower's stamens. People are especially sensitive to the scent.Old rose: The classic rose fragrance, it's found almost exclusively in pink and red roses.Tea rose: A strong scent — like that of fresh tea — that often dominates a flower. Other fragrances can become evident over time.

An Expert's Favorites

Michael Marriott handles as technical director and head rosarian for David Austin Roses and along with fellow scent expert Rober Calkin regularly oversees the production of roses. Not every variant can fit the needs we have. As Elenor Roosevelt once said: "I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was
not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed,
but fine up against a wall".

Here Marriot has chosen his top David Austin roses, based largely on their scent. His list of favorite rose variants:
Gertrude Jekyll: Marriott says this is considered the quintessential old rose fragrance: strong, rich, complex and well-balanced. (USDA Zones 4-8)
Munstead Wood: Also a strong old rose scent, it features notes of blackberry, blueberry and damson plum. (Zones 5-9)
Lady Emma Hamilton: A strong, fruity fragrance (pear, grape and citrus) that complements its orange and yellow coloring. (Zones 5-9)
Scepter'd Isle: With a strong myrrh fragrance, this variety has won the Royal National Rose Society's award for fragrance. (Zones 5-10)
Harlow Carr: Another old rose floral scent that complements a classic old rose form. (Zones 5-9)

10 comments:

lolI love the Eleanor quote! :) I don't know much about Eleanor (I really should find a good biography of her) but from I could gather she seemed like a very intelligent person with a good sense of humor.

I had never read that Eleanor Roosevelt quote--it's wonderful--but can believe she'd say it; she was a brilliant woman.

I have tried growing roses, and for years have coveted the David Austins. I concluded that they are far too needy for me to maintain. But aren't they the queen of all flowers? Hmm. Now you've got me thinking about that newly cleared, sunny space in my back yard...

First of all, love the blog. Your writing is so informative and useful.

I would like to weight in on this. I used to grow roses and years ago would have been considered an expert.Currently though I have not flexed my mental muscles in this subject area for a while and they have atrophied a bit, HOWEVER this list is far too short and misses the mark regarding the number of perfume types of roses and this is excluding all the minor ones. There is considerably more grouping but I am unable to locate the full list at this time. The following link lists is a very partial one: http://www.baraken.jp/english/learn/classification.html

Elena Vosnaki is executive editor of Fragrantica.gr, the leader in fragrance information in Greek, as well as a senior editor for the top english-speaking Fragrantica.com webzine.

Vosnaki has been Fragrance Expert on About.com and the Perfume History Curator of the Be Open Foundation exhibitionThe Garden of Wonders, A Journey in Scents in Milan. Her writing has been twice shortlisted in the FIFI Editorial Excellence Awards and is extensively quoted by authors. She is an evaluating expert on Osmoz.com.

Perfume Shrine is an award winning blog of 1000s of fragrance reviews (modern, niche, classic, vintage), articles on perfume history and aroma materials, comparisons of scents, interviews with perfumers & the fragrance industry, perfume shopping as well as scented travel memoirs, fine cuisine, tips on building a fragrance wardrobe and musings about the pleasures of the senses.